Friday, April 13, 2007

The Tragedy of Sonia Naz

Concerned about the miserable plight of rape victim Sonia Naz, I blogged about her tragedy eight times.

My last blog dates from April 2006 – a year ago when I learnt from the newspapers that she had been beaten to a pulp. By then I had come to the depressing conclusion that with the government of Punjab determined to oppose her, she stood little chance of obtaining justice.

Since then there has been little news about her, until today.

This morning I read in the Daily Times that the accused had been acquitted in court.

Sonia Naz herself has been missing for a while. I wonder where she is and what has happened to her?

LAHORE: An additional district and sessions judge on Thursday accepted an application by SP Khalid Abdullah and Inspector Jamshed Chishty to acquit them of the charges of kidnapping and raping Sonia Naz. Earlier, notices had been issued to Sonia Naz on several occasions, but she had failed to appear in court. The court on Thursday rejected an application by her counsel Naveed Inayat Malik that trial against the accused should be delayed till she appeared in court. The court had started the process to declare Sonia Naz an absconder/a proclaimed offender on December 23, 2006, when she failed to appear in court. The court had also directed the police to attach her property and had earlier issued her arrest warrants, but she still did not attend the proceedings.

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For those interested in learning about her tragic plight here are the links to my previous Blogs

5 comments:

Anonymous
said...

It is really really unfortunate. I am ashamed of being part of a nation where some body like sonia naz can not get justice.All the generels with their big cars, houses and servents should be ashamed that they can not help poor sonis.All the mullahs with their big beards and big bellies should be ashamed.All the political leaders should be ashamed. All the feminist siging songs of Mush for women protection bill should be ashamed. All the people filling mosques everyday, on fridays , in ramadan, on eid , on the birth of prophet peace be upon him should be ashamed.All the people who does not have courage to stand againt injustice and cruelty should be ashamed. Nation of pakistan, shame on you. You can fill masjids but can not stand for a poor girl who was rape and tortured.People of pakistan, shame on you, you want to protect your daughters, your honours but you let daughters of the nation suffer in the hands of police and thugs. shame shame shame shame

I really want to know what happened to Ms Sonia Naz. I fear she has been abducted and possibly killed of. These types of "disappearances" are common in politicially unstable countries like Pakistan, where corruption is the order of the day.

The only trace I could find dates back to December 2006. An article published under this link but which is not valid anymore although the ful article can be read here:

http://www.pakdef.info/forum/showthread.php?t=7384&page=7

3rd post from above.

So I think it is safe to say that seeing as her neither her family nor the media has heard from her, she is probably not alive anymore.

Rape and murder pays in Pakistan. Best way to silence any critical voice.

I ask - in the socalled "Islamic" republic of Pakistan, where majority of "men" are so consumed with the morality of women and the purity of these, where was their objection, protests? If only a small percentage of these "men" had taken to the street, protesting and making noise, this case would have had a different outcome surely.

If you as much as suggest that the Hudood laws should be reformed or better yet, removed, you will have hell unleashed. But a "sister", mother of two, a devout and faithful wife is raped and humiliated, and these "men" do nothing. Belonging to the male gender is one thing. Being a man is a whole different thing altogether.